Gazza was special

He is currently the national manager of Guam, a Pacific island just over an hour's flight from Japan.

The Lancashire Evening Telegraph broke the news to him of Gazza's move to Turf Moor and stirred a host of memories for the man from Northern Ireland - the prodigious talent and the livewire character...

THERE is nothing that Newcastle United fans like better than a local boy made good so it is little surprise that they immediately took Gazza to their hearts.

Born in Gateshead on May 27, 1967, he himself fell in love with football and his talent shone through from an early age.

It was former Burnley scout Peter Kirkley who took him to St James' Park as a teenager, the youngster having already been on trial at both Middlesbrough and Ipswich Town.

Kirkley remembers a stocky young lad juggling the ball on the touchline, desperate to get on as a sub in an under-13 game. His first impression was he would be a great player and he was not wrong.

It turned out that it was to be on the Tyne that he would make his name and burst to prominence and Willie McFaul was never in any doubt he would become a star.

McFaul was the Newcastle manager from 1985 to 1988, succeeding Jack Charlton in the hot-seat, and he remembers seeing young Paul's skills flourish at St James's Park.

"Paul was the same age as my son and they played their football together as youngsters," he said.

"Paul had a lot of talent, you could see that straight away and that has been borne out throughout his career.

"He came into the building as a young boy who had been all over the country but Peter Kirkley had got him to sign for us.

"He was a very different talent with the type of ability that others simply didn't have. You have to nurture that sort of ability, you have to appreciate it and you have to look after him."

With the prodigious amount of talent he had it was never going to be long before he would be breaking into the first team.

And, while McFaul gave him his full debut, he had already tasted some first team action as a 17-year-old.

"It was when Jack Charlton was manager that he came on as a substitute a few times and then at the start of my first season in 1985 I gave him his full debut in an away game at Southampton," he explained.

"I didn't even tell him he was playing till we had the pre-match team talk but he didn't let me down.

"To be honest he had a talent that people of his age didn't have. He had just turned 18 but he was something special.

"He was still a young boy and of course he got up to his antics, probably more than anyone else of his age. But you had to appreciate that that came with his talent and on the pitch he was always likely to do something different.

"As his manager it was a talent that I had to try and control and as a young player he was very lucky to be playing alongside some very experienced players, people like Glenn Roeder and Paul Goddard.

"They really helped him along because Gazza was just one of a few young players in the side at the time."

The big disappointment for McFaul was that Gascoigne left the North East at the time his skills were really beginning to come to the fore.

"I was sad when he left but it was something that he wanted to do so there was not a lot I could do about it, " he said. "I remember that Fergie (Sir Alex Ferguson) had shown an interest in buying him but it was Tottenham Hotspur who tabled an offer and the board at Newcastle accepted it.

"It was very disappointing from my point of view. I had hoped to change his mind but I couldn't."

As the national manager of Guam, McFaul is now working with players at the direct opposite end of the skills spectrum to Gazza, but the memories of Gascoigne inspiring his team are still fresh in his mind.

"There were so many games where he showed something special," he said. "His vision has always been very good, his understanding of angles and distance.

"Then there was his ability at taking free kicks, either going for goal or crossing for others.

"I remember that people would say that he was slow as a young player but what a lot of people don't realise is how strong he was. That strength would help him to get to the ball when others maybe wouldn't.

"And, of course, he scored goals from his best position of central midfield. He used to like to get forward as much as possible to support the strikers but as a young boy I sometimes had to restrict him.

"It was not just the fact that he had all the skills, it was the fact he had the confidence to go with it. The problem was he would sometimes want to do bits in the wrong parts of the pitch, the defensive areas.

"I wanted him to use his ability in attacking positions. He was so exciting on the ball but it could scare you at times."

As with everyone else who has come across the midfielder throughout his career, McFaul was able to see the clown prince's antics at first hand.

"He had the bubbly character of a typical young boy and he did have a lot of cheek about him," he said.

"But even at that young age you could see he was a very kind lad, he was always willing to help out anyone with anything."

Ever since he left Newcastle, his former manager has followed Gascoigne's career with interest, enjoying the highs and feeling upset about the lows.

"Let's face it, it would be impossible to ignore his career wouldn't it," he said.

But he still has a huge amount of affection for the man who he first new as a boy and he is hoping that the latest move in his career will be a good one for both the player and the Clarets.

McFaul, who flew with his squad of young players to South Korea for an Under-19 tournament today, is due back in Britain next month.

It is unlikely he will find time to visit Turf Moor and see Gazza in action but he will be looking at Burnley's results with greater interest than he would have done a fortnight ago. After all, as 58-year-old McFaul can testify, once you have worked with Gazza and known him as a person, you are never going to forget him.